Wednesday, August 31, 2011

There's something about Sweden's Little Majorette that's deceptively brilliant. Frontwoman Zoe Durrant's voice is unthreateningly whisper-soft, sometimes infantilized even, bringing to mind fellow Scandinavian heartbreakers, Flunk. We first fell for Durrant in her previous project Havana Guns - whose debut single "She Always Goes Down" briefly won over our hearts and minds before their breakup back in 2006 - but with Little Majorette she's back and better than ever, joined by musicians Petter Winnberg and Nils Tornqvist, who also moonlight as musicians in Miike Snow's touring band.

In "Never Be The Same", Durrant's vocals provide the perfect distraction from the suspicious piano chords ominously crescendoing under the dark electronic shadow of the song's intro, anxiety building as the synths crawl closer and you brace yourself for the jump scare around the corner that never comes. That is, until the massive gang vocal chorus drops and an avalanche of Miike Snow-sized synths from the coldest Arctic winter fall from the sky above. Then just as you think the coast is clear, they unleash one of the most chillingly amazing keys riffs we've ever heard, almost classical in its design as it spirals up, up and away into the cold night air as the song reaches its twilight. And just like that, Little Majorette burst onto the scene out of nowhere with one of our favorite singles of the year. Shock and awe.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Worried your Labor Day weekend plans will get in the way of Popshop this week? Well worry no more, as we're pushing things back a week to September 8th so as to maximize rage potential and make sure no one misses out. Trust us though, the wait is more than worth it, as this one may well be our biggest lineup ever.

Fresh off a party rocking set at All Things Gold 002 last week in DC are our partners in crime The Knocks returning as headliners, and those who attended their first headline show at Popshop 002 last February will remember it as one of the craziest nights we've ever put on. Then bringing the heat in the main support slot is superpop vixen Wynter Gordon, whose omnipresent smash single "Dirty Talk" has had her living at the top of the charts so long she should be paying rent. Rounding out the lineup is NYC's own hometown hero and firstborn son of the HeavyRoc family Samuel, as well as London via Tel-Aviv electro types Tiger Love, hot on the heels of international dates supporting Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. And as if that live lineup wasn't massive enough, we've got a once-in-a-lifetime, I-was-there-when Goldsmith reunion on the decks, as our superstar alumni Ellie Goulding and Starsmith get together on the ones and twos in the headline DJ slot.

As is Popshop family tradition, we'll be providing an Absolut Vodka OPEN BAR from 8pm- 9pm and a FREE KEG of Heineken at 2am for our nearest and dearest who decide to rage with us well into the early morning. Changing up our ticket approach this time, the first 50 people to order online can cop $10 early bird tickets, after which all remaining tickets will be $13 in advance and $15 on the door. Tickets are available online from the Popshop site HERE, so move fast to cop that price break and don't sleep on this one, this will be another sell out.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Brite Futures, the artists formerly known as Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, explode back onto the scene with a V For Vendetta against your average everyday pop hit as they prepare for the release of their forthcoming second album. Seconds into "Baby Rain", there's a double thunderclap and in comes a synchronized synth and bass riff reminiscent of The Virgins or Starfucker as the song goes from 0 to 60 in five seconds flat. It doesn't stop there, as the vocals swoop in on harmonized falsetto jetpacks and the track takes flight on a collision course with the stars. Shortly thereafter the chorus drowns you in liquid sugar, the breakdown soaks it all up, and the track fully blossoms into something that will stay implanted in your head for weeks to come. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

St. Lucia's phenomenal debut EP has been on repeat here at Neon Gold HQ since it flew domestically across the interwebs and into our inbox last week, with current single "All Eyes On You" still going very strong on our songs of the summer playlist as we bring you the exclusive premier of its music video above. So you can only imagine our excitement when a remix from the as-of-late untouchable '96 Bulls of that very track sidled up alongside said EP in our inbox.

Fortunately, Australia's own Jordan and Pippen don't disappoint, holding court by doing the source material the utmost justice in a glass-shattering alley oop of a remix that goes harder in the paint than Dennis Rodman on steroids. Furthermore, it's the perfect track to whet your appetite for St. Lucia's international live debut this Thursday in DC alongside The Knocks and ANR at All Things Gold 002 (for which tickets still flowing here), of which me may or may not have caught a very secret - and very awesome - sneak preview of last week. Get excited.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

ANR is truly Miami's finest. They're like a buddy cop duo whose lethal weapon is their interminable arsenal of experimental pop hooks, and we're honored to welcome them to the force on their next single out later this month. Take Exhibit A-side: "It's Around You". The radio filter intro foreshadows the immortal feeling you get when the synths surges drop nearly a minute in and the track engulfs you in a shimmering galaxy of anthemic choral shouts and pop majesty. Each humming pulse is like lightning in a bottle until drum layers and vocal layers are added and the chorus ultimately crashes into beautiful oblivion. It's strangely uplifting despite the minor chords and elegiac harmonies, perhaps thanks to the soft xylophone drops and a masterfully orchestrated brass section. As the moody trombones are counterbalanced by the kind of adulatory trumpets Mark Ronson would be proud of, ANR are guilty of squashing your conscience and unleashing your id.

And if that wasn't enough, we give you the Exhibit AA-side on the flip: "Blood on Blood", mixed by none other than the inimitable Ben Allen, fresh out of the studio with Reptar and Walk The Moon. A seemingly harmless piano progression lulls you into a false sense of security and maintains its composure until the chorus just loses it altogether with groaning electronic switches and a massive vocal melody, a manic force to be reckoned with. Then there's that classical piano break in the bridge that takes you completely by surprise, but it serves as a meticulously planned stopgap that even bloodhounds couldn't sniff out. As soon as it picks up where it left off, the beat is back with an eye-for-an-eye vengeance. It's all very cinematic and would make for an incredible epilogue to their brilliant "Big Problem" video (easily one of the year's best). ANR have absolutely killed it on our next release and if that makes us accomplices, then so be it. We're not ones to talk a big game (note: we are), but if you let it into your heart we promise this will be one of your favorite singles of 2011. Preorder is available now from the Neon Gold Shop, and you'll be able to experience in all its glory for yourself when it drops August 29th.

Swedish prodigy Tove Styrke was already going to be your new crush, but now with an extreme makeover from fellow countrymen Familjen, she's even more irresistible. The Familjen revision starts simply enough with an infectious piano progression padded by anxious handclaps that quickly time-warps into an alternate dimension. Like a pixie Robyn, Styrke's voice flo-oh-oats by on the wings of Familjen's buoyant, fairytale instrumental as dragons circle high above breathing heavy synth plumes. But like Calvin Harris's "Feel So Close" rolling face on uncut ecstasy, Familjen's mix scales great heights in a single bound, the beat acting as a safety net for the vocals to fall back on before everything goes trampoline for the chorus and the post-chorus. Sure, this track may have quietly come out in late 2010, but you better believe it still sounds every bit as glorious in the carefree summer of 2011.

Monday, August 15, 2011

With the launch of All Things Gold a raging success last month (500+ tix sold, whoa) as Penguin Prison, RAC and Reptar tore the roof off a sold out (and then some) U Street Music Hall, we're back with yet another stacked lineup to shake DC to its very core. For starters, we've got our resident partystarters The Knocks headlining what will be their first US gig in a minute with a revamped live show and some brand new hits for your ears. Then we've got stellar support from Miami's finest (and the latest addition to the Neon Gold family) ANR and the magnificent St. Lucia making his highly anticipated live debut. And as if that wasn't enough, Lightwaves and Captain Cuts will be watching the throne in between sets, presiding over the dancefloor on the ones and twos all night long. Doors are at 9pm and Heineken drink specials will be popping off left and right, and for the low low price of $10 advance tickets (or $13 on the door), don't just make plans to make plans - make plans, make moves and make memories. Advance tickets available HERE, last time sold out in advance (and sold out hard) so don't get shut out in the sweltering DC heat two months in a row. Set times and streaming mp3s below, you know the drill.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Finding their niche somewhere between the star-crossed dual vocals of Stars and the massive hooks and pop production of Sky Ferreira, DWNTWN's debut single "Transition" comes off like a radio-friendly pop smash masquerading as an accessible indie floor-filler. Beginning innocently enough, eerie droplets fall from the upper octave onto the dashboard as the female vocal shifts gears, adds a male passenger and goes from 0-100 in 8 seconds flat. Shining a light on that tragic post-relationship grey area, the single debunks all conventions of what is and isn't chart-worthy and vies for the stars and nothing less.

The blunt jungle beats and cross-hatching sonic flourishes absorb the brunt of the heartbreak lodged deep in the verses. While DWNTWN lacks vowels, the track achieves supersonic consonance, marrying a Top 40 prechorus reminiscent of Sky's "ONE" with an ethereal chorus flaunting ice cold synths that sound as if they crash landed from the uncharted planet of M83. It's a big track, and with the incomparable DJ Skeet Skeet (y'all heard his new Foster The People remix? FUEGO.) helming the ship on the management side of things, you can expect to hear a lot more out of these two in the months to come. Get familiar.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

UPDATE:Magistrates were one of the first bands we ever wrote about back in September 2008, and we were gutted to hear of their breakup a year later in 2009. Now it sounds like they've returned, playing their first shows in nearly two years, starting with their triumphant re-entry into society August 25th at London's The Queen of Hoxton. Three years on their original demos sound every bit as vital and refreshing as they did in 2008, especially their first (and only) single "Make This Work". Not bad for a bedroom demo. Enjoy the track and our original post on the band below.

Our love for Magistrates runs way deep, and it's been that way ever since their completely untouchable three-track demo found it's way into these hands last January. Six months have come and gone since then, and Magistrates have still got stars in our eyes and a fire burning betwixt our loins, even moreso since their debut single "Make This Work" started tearing up Radio 1 this summer. Presented untouched and unchanged from it's original bedroom-recorded demo form, it's a sexy falsetto-heavy pop jam that makes you wish Prince fronted Klaxons more often. Thanks once again to Abeano and XL for the hook up, how we love them so.

You probably already know this, but Alex Winston is one in a million. Part chanteuse, part dreamboat, Winnie is a full-bodied glass of water with a soprano that washes over you with effortless resolve. Enter Andre Anjos of RAC, who takes her new single "Velvet Elvis" to town, buys it a new dress, and turns it into (sister) wife material. With a flick of his magic wand and a soft trumpet proclamation, RAC lights the track up with spritely string plucks and a wistful keys progression that sounds like the precocious younger cousin of Avicii's "Penguin". The chugging locomotive drumline of the original is replaced by rollicking top-of-the-morning percussion that gains energy and momentum with each passing refrain. Perhaps the best Winston remix yet, consider this another trophy on the shelf for Anjos and the RAC crew. Grab the remix below and check her video over on Beyond Gold now, it's a keeper.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

And so the Year of the Captain continues. What began as an official remix for Beyonce's ladies night anthem "Girls" quickly turned into a whole new beast once Captain Cuts introduced it to the Beastie Boys' classic of the same name, and my how these "Girls" play nicely together.

Leaving the traditional major label remix approach in the rearview, the Captains take a detour and go the mash up route, replaying the Beasties' parts themselves to fit Beyonce's vocal as if they were expert tailors of the dancefloor, working around the clock in the name of the beat. The end result is a work of staggering remix genius, as the Captains prove once again that they're operating on a whole different level from just about everyone else in the remix game. "Girls On Girls" - as it's called - is the first taste of many amazing things to come on Captain Cuts' debut mixtape, titled This Is Your Captain Speaking and coming at you later this month. Watch this space, you won't want to miss this.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Today marks the release date of our brand new single with Newcastle's Polarsets (available for purchase from the Neon Gold Shop HERE), and to celebrate we've got a special remix exclusive in the first ever rework from massively hyped Scotland pop hopefuls Midnight Lion. Hard at work on a tropical island not far from where Polarsets' original “Morning” was born, the Glaswegian natives were busy cooking up this remix over their bonfire, Lord of the Flies-style.

The beginning feels like the moments immediately preceding a force majeure rainstorm, as the fog settles and you struggle to make out familiar shapes on the horizon. You hear Rob Howe’s voice dragged through the sand with loops and layers, as Midnight Lion trade cowbells for handclaps and more tribal beats. The final minute and a half evolves into an uplifting triumph of epic hero montage music - the kind of stuff Michael Bay trailer dreams are made of, only with loads more substance. This year's already seen no shortage of lessons in the art of the life affirming remix from our partners-in-crime Captain Cuts and Xaphoon Jones, and if this is anything to go by, Midnight Lion have been taking note. Consider this the next chapter then.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

This Club, a four piece out of Dublin, arrive on the scene like the Robin to Delphic's Batman, but raised on a healthy diet of vocal acrobatics and mental gymnastics. The intro to "I Won't Worry" cuts in like the counterpoint to "Doubt", leading to cries of palpable emotion with optimistic (almost idealistic) synth throws and mega guitar riffs, elements kindly borrowed from the Two Door Cinema Club school of pop. But there's also a heavy tropical influence somewhere between Fela Kuti and The Holidays that allows This Club to add up to far more than just the sum of its parts. Basically it's another summer staple for your headphones, complete with an epic breakdown that begins as a handclap-laden hook before being completed by a twisting bassline and shouting harmonies. This won't bring the people to the party, this will bring the party to the people.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Without so much as a warning, Undercolours explode onto the scene as Australia's next great hope for global pop supremacy. Like fellow countrymen Gypsy & The Cat channeling the stadium-sized hooks and effortlessly anthemic songwriting of The Temper Trap, Undercolours sound like an overnight success story just waiting to happen. Debut single "Spirit The Ghost" awakens with soft passive aggressive guitars and a reconciliatory bass line before emotive piano chords unleash a nascent hint of optimism as tension builds in the prechorus. By the time Undercolours break through it all and lunge headfirst into a chorus filled to the brim with soaring harmonies and echo-oh-oh-ohs, they've already established themselves as the kind of act ready to turn heads at breakneck speed in A&R meetings the world over. Australia, you've gone and done it again.

It's not like we need to tell you twice at this point - though we always do - but tomorrow's Popshop is gonna be one for the record books y'all. Not only do we have a sprawling four band live bill for you in French Horn Rebellion, AVAN LAVA, Slowdance and PLAINS but we're also working with two of the city's best new DJ acts in PUNCHES and The Jane Doze and Australia's hot-like-fire remix savant G.L.O.V.E.S. Different vibes on different floors, we've got you covered.

As per usual, we now give you the newest edition of The Knocks' Popshop Radio minimix, which will intro you to everyone playing tomorrow, in addition to some other jams so fresh it would be a crime not to share. You'll find the full tracklist and a stream/download player below. Remember, there's an OPEN BAR on Absolut from 8-9pm and a FREE KEG of Heineken from 2-3am so be sure to get your advance tickets HERE for only $10. We're breaking down rage barriers left, right, and center and all we ask is that you come out and join us, so do us a solid and get involved.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Lights + Music launched last week to rave reviews as Bag Raiders dropped one of the fiercest sets Tammany Hall has ever seen amidst a sweaty sea of glowsticks, lasers and strobes and a sold out crowd discovered firsthand why Lights + Music is the best new rave Manhattan has to offer. Never ones to rest on our laurels, we're back with a vengeance next week as Lights + Music returns for its second installment with the incomparable Treasure Fingers headlining and support on the decks from The Knocks and DJ Price.

In the mix again are Corona and 900 Degrees providing free beer and pizza for the show's first hour from 10pm to 11pm, before Treasure Fingers take the decks around midnight. Bookending his set will be DJ Price opening things up from 10pm-12am and The Knocks closing things out late night. Plus, we'll have even more glowsticks and lasers in the mix this time around, and with all that amazing music and free alcohol this is a steal at $10 advance tickets and $13 on the door. The launch party sold out in advance and this one's bound to be every bit as crazy, so don't sleep and get your tickets HERE now.

We are pleased to announce our next release, featuring the Newcastle dance-pop trio, Polarsets. We've been holding off on a full-course Polarsets education until now, but rest assured, class is now in session. Already veterans of the Neon Gold stage after supporting Walk The Moon at our last London showcase earlier this year and each of their infectious Ibiza-channeling singles are further proof that they are masters of crafting hip-popping island vibes. The A-side, "Morning", serves as a wake-up call to all the conservative indie pop bands out there - from the first cowbell strike, the single moves like a flashdance assembly line that picks up tropical steam with each added high hat and steel drum. It's an idiosyncratic mix of Delorean and Two Door Cinema Club that pops you in the jaw with grand aplomb. Once it jumps back into the middle eighth and snaps back to reality, it's all about the bass drum thumps and massive vocal hooks because Polarsets are now officially the big fish in a small pond.

The flipside, "Sunset", plays like a musical anagram of "Morning". The trademark cowbells emerge unscathed and still intact even after Polarsets laid siege to the A-side. The intro to this redux is a welcome respite from their full-frontal onslaught of frantic drum kicks and serves as a seamless segue into a bouncy castle chord progression that gets along so well with Rob Howe's angelic pipes. The tension builds with multiple drums feeding off each other, working in conjunction towards achieving the final dream. The release feels like a full day spent watching stars burning out and being born anew, all the while sitting on top of the world adjacent to the one who matters most. It just feels right. Out August 8th and available now for preorder from the Neon Gold Shop and flaunting heart-stopping art direction from the never not brilliant FRAU GRAU, this is one "Morning" you won't want to sleep through.

Monday, August 1, 2011

So last week we gave you a taste of this Thursday's Popshop with the announcement of French Horn Rebellion, AVAN LAVA, The Jane Doze, PUNCHES and G.L.O.V.E.S., and as if that wasn't enough, today we add two more brilliant live acts to the bill: Miami's PLAINS and Brooklyn's Slowdance. This brings the final lineup to a magnificent four live bands and three DJ acts spread across two floors of all-out Popshop mayhem. And all for the low low price of $10 in advance and $13 on the door, including two hours of open bars courtesy of Absolut (from 8pm-9pm) and Heineken (from 2am-3am), it's pretty much the bargain of the century. So don't delay, cop your tickets HERE and get involved, it's gonna be another glorious night at Tammany Hall.

Our polygamous love affair with Grouplove and Foster the People is one of the worst kept secrets in music, so when the two LA heavyweights went head-to-head in the remix ring with each others' signature songs in tow, we had to step in and hold up the arms of both contenders because it's a win-win for the ages. Double winning.

First up is Grouplove and Captain Cuts, who kicked of 2011 with one of the greatest life-affirming standalone remixes known to man and come damn close to outdoing themselves for once and for all here, as they tag-team "Pumped Up Kicks" and whip the undisputed anthem of the summer into a monstrous club beast. What starts off as an innocuous uptempo pleasure cruise for Foster and co. turns deadly when the Captains unleash the perfect storm of seismic synths and dramatic piano stabs in the bridge, before blue skies and the summer's biggest singalong chorus returns to right the ship in the song's final minute. We honestly don't know how Captain Cuts do it, this right here is remix ART y'all.

Foster The People scratch Grouplove's back in return by redressing "Colours" in a slick waterproof number, as Christian Zucchoni's loopy vocals become brilliantly impervious to the dripping synth washes and full-moon transformation brought into play by Foster. This lofty reimagining swells with pride and bursts at the seams with icy confetti, ultimately leaving a permanent layer of stardust in its wake. These companion remixes are dark magic of the highest order, a two headed hydra of remix perfection coming together to give you the perfect remix double drop to kick your week off right.